The Man of Lawlessness
1 Now concerning the coming y of our Lord z Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him: We ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy C,a or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord D,b has come. c 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy E comes first and the man of lawlessness F is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god d or object of worship, e so that he sits G in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.
5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this? 6 And you know what currently restrains him, so that he will be revealed in his time. f 7 For the mystery of lawlessness g is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way, 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth h and will bring him to nothing at the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders, i 10 and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved. j 11 For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie, 12 so that all will be condemned k—those who did not believe l the truth but delighted in unrighteousness.
Stand Firm
13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning H God has chosen m you for salvation through sanctification n by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory o of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm p and hold to the traditions you were taught, q whether by what we said or what we wrote.
16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved r us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.